Artificial intelligence smoothie shop in downtown San Francisco has closed after 2 months

News

By Alyssa Guzman

An AI-run smoothie shop has closed its doors after just two months in a moribund downtown San Francisco market as businesses suffer amid a growing homelessness crisis.

Michael Parlato and Clayton Reynolds, founders of BetterBlends, have bet on San Francisco, taking a chance on a dying downtown area abandoned by old flagship stores and corporate offices.

The founders said they had a great initial response, with many customers happy to see a new business in town.

But late last month, a sign was taped to the glass doors informing customers that the smoothie shop was temporarily closed and would reopen within an hour.

According to the Guardian, however, no such return took place and the store has been closed for more than a month.

Sources told British media that the sign had been up for weeks, and on October 23 the store was empty, with only a few trash cans and a few plants left inside.

The shop, which sold smoothies for $10, used artificial intelligence software to help customers choose preferences before generating a smoothie recipe that the co-founders made behind the bar.

After the apparent closure, one user wrote a comment on Google saying: I had high hopes for this business.

The client also indicated that the owners do not understand the discipline required to run a business and often change business hours and close on random days.

Christian Cissena, who works at the coffee shop next door, confirmed that the owners left the house and have not been seen since.

“It’s just sad because we really need more businesses in this area,” he told the Guardian. I hate to say it, but I heard the smoothies weren’t that good.

The Post has attempted to reach Parlato and Reynolds for comment. Although the owners never revealed the real reason for their quiet exit, Market Street, where the store was located, and the surrounding area have become littered with homeless encampments.

A local Whole Foods store fielded 568 emergency calls in just over a year before closing its doors due to chaotic incidents that included food being thrown and vagrants fighting inside the store.

Calls included an overdose in a bathroom and a man with a machete.

The Nordstrom’s flagship, also on Market Street, was forced to close due to fentanyl zombies roaming outside, among drug dealers and thieves.

Other stores like Gap, H&M, Lululemon, DSW, etc. were forced to relocate as crime and homelessness rose.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed condemned homeless activists for trying to keep people off the streets by giving them tents.

These activists are the same people who pitch tents to keep people off the streets instead of working to bring them indoors, Breed wrote on the online platform Medium.

And they are the same people who are ordering and encouraging people to avoid shelters to stay on the streets instead of going indoors. Their agenda is clear.